How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

Russian telecom major JSFC Sistema will soon launch a mobile phone embedded with a special chip through which parents who give this instrument to their kids can get their location on their mobile phone, whether it is on a GSM or a CDMA network, 24X7.

What makes this possible is Glonass -- the navigation and tracking system based on a network of 24 satellites circling around the globe.

It has been built by Sistema as an alternative to the US-owned global positioning systems, or GPS.

At the moment, most consumers in India use GPS on their mobile sets to support such features as locational services.

How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

A few weeks ago, in end December, when Russian president Vladimir Putin had come for a one-day visit to India, media attention was concentrated on his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the future of Sistema's CDMA services in the country, after its licence had been struck down by the Supreme Court in February.

Soon after Putin's visit, an empowered group of ministers has recommended that the reserve price for CDMA spectrum be slashed 30 per cent or 50 per cent for the next round of auctions in March.

How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

But what got lost in the media glare was the quiet deal that was struck between Sistema and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL, it offers telephony services, fixed-line as well as mobile, all over India except Mumbai and Delhi) to jointly develop Glonass services and applications in the country.

How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

"Instead of say three to four satellites covering a guard area, you have eight satellites covering the same area with Glonass.

Our aim in India is to use Glonass to offer various services and applications by using the pan-India infrastructure and customers of BSNL and MTNL (another state-owned company that operates telephony services in Mumbai and Delhi).

It will also help us look at government contracts".

Hot on Sistema's agenda, especially after the outrage in Delhi during the brutal rape of a 23-year-old woman, is to offer a "safe bus" to the state.

How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

Last year, Sistema undertook a pilot project with Delhi Transport Corporation where some buses were installed with IP cameras, a black box for recording camera footage, an emergency alarm connected to the control room and an online data transmission system through Glonass and MTS's mobile network.

Sistema, of course, is aware that a project like this would cost a lot of money and that it is not easy for a state-owned company, which runs its buses on subsidised fares to invest that money.

How Sistema plans to strike it big in India

The Russian company ran another pilot project at the Jaipur airport to showcase its technological prowess.

It was a system for face recognition of passengers.

Cameras took pictures of passengers standing at the immigration counters and matched it with the database available with the investigative agencies to check whether they were on the wanted list or terrorists.

Sistema is also in negotiations with logistic companies to offer their drivers a wearable tracker which will help them keep a tab on their trucks as well as their drivers.